Fred W. Lindblom, D.D.SAppointments: (619) 460-2280

Frederick Lindblom D.D.S.

Fred W. Lindblom, D.D.S

Monthly "no-finance" payments may be a great option to help our La Mesa area dental patients with payment for dental treatment. No-finance means you will not be accruing interest fees month after month, but rather only paying down the exact balance owed. In essence, you will be able to spread out the cost of your treatment out over several months, which can make getting the treatment you need and deserve much more affordable.

La Mesa area restorative dentistry at Fred W. Lindblom, D.D.S can produce natural-looking results. If you have a damaged or missing tooth, we can help.

Our highly skilled team will assess your need for a crown, bridge, implant or other procedure to restore or improve your smile. Our goal is to provide quality dental care for your life-long oral health.

Would you like your smile to be a bit brighter than it is right now? We can make it happen at Fred W. Lindblom, D.D.S, with professional tooth whitening for brighter natural looking teeth. Dr. Frederick Lindblom's La Mesa, CA area office can effectively lighten your stained or discolored tooth enamel. Whiter teeth not only look great, they improve your self-confidence.

There are a variety of payment options available to our valued patients. Fred W. Lindblom, D.D.S accepts debit cards, credit cards, checks and cash, and even offers convenient monthly payment plans for those who qualify. Call our La Mesa area dental office today to discuss the right financial options for you.

San Diego Sleep Apnea CentersAppointments: (858) 997-2877

Gary Sigafoos D.D.S.

San Diego Sleep Apnea Centers

At San Diego Sleep Apnea Centers we offer a range of treatment options for sleep apnea. If snoring or obstructed breathing is a problem, call Dr. Sigafoos today to learn how we can help you breathe easier.

Left untreated, sleep apnea can cause serious health problems, so contact us now to schedule an examination.

New and safe sedation dentistry with La Jolla area sedation dentist Dr. Gary Sigafoos means you can have years of dental treatments done quickly while you're lightly sedated, with little or no discomfort. If you've been putting up with discomfort, hiding your smile, or delaying scheduling dental work because you're too busy, your life is about to change. Make a sedation dentistry consultation appointment today with Dr. Sigafoos.

We want your dental treatment to be affordable for you. We're committed to helping you maintain your life-long oral health.

For comfortable tooth cleaning in the La Jolla, California area, Dr. Gary Sigafoos is known for having a gentle touch. The friendly team at San Diego Sleep Apnea Centers provides dental hygiene treatments for a whiter smile.

Maintaining good dental hygiene is the foundation for healthy teeth and gums. We're committed to helping you have a lifetime of oral health.

If you need gum disease treatment, La Jolla area gum disease dentist, Dr. Sigafoos offers extensive experience. Unhealthy gums can be a risk factor for more serious health problems if not treated promptly.

Our professional team will assess your situation and create a personalized treatment plan. We're committed to your life-long healthy gums and teeth.

Is It Time for New Dentures?

Dentures that fit well can improve your looks and enhance eating and speaking. Talk to your prosthodontist about your current situation and whether you need new dentures. In general, the life expectancy of false teeth is about five to seven years.

Factors that affect the satisfaction and life span of your prosthodontics include:

General health status

Significant weight increase or decrease

Time since loss of teeth

Denture care and cleaning

Tobacco and caffeine use

Shape of your mouth

Changes in facial and oral muscles

Variation in skin tone or color

The color match of false teeth to a natural tooth color can seem to change, especially if the natural teeth are darker due to stains or lighter because of past dental treatment. Also, dentures can wear, stain, chip, or fracture over time. Today's denturists are able to modify the look of smiles and gum tissues in order to compliment existing teeth, skin color, or tone.

Dentures, like all manufactured goods, require regular maintenance and eventual replacement. To maintain proper fit, appearance, function, and to avoid any damage to oral structure, a prosthodontist should regularly evaluate your false teeth. The gum and bone tissues that support dentures undergo changes over time and with age. Often, these changes include a good amount of bone shrinkage. Bone shrinkage causes a denture to become loose, less functional, and slip during eating and speaking. Age-related changes in facial muscles, complexion, and lips also will affect the function and appearance of your prosthodontics. Oral hygiene habits, use of tobacco, and drinking coffee or tea will also affect the appearance of a denture, as well as any odors associated with them.

Since dentures are in use every day, for many years, it is reasonable to periodically replace those that no longer fit properly. If you have not visited a denturist recently, if your false teeth slip, have lost their good looks, cause discomfort, or if they are more than five years old, you may need to replace them.

by Denise J. Fedele, D.M.D., M.S.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

When Should a Denture Be Replaced?

There is no specifically agreed-upon chronological answer by dentists to "When should a denture be replaced?" There are instances where dentures have been replaced after 1 year or less, and on the opposite side of the spectrum, there are people who have worn the same dentures for 25 or more years. These ranges obviously are extremes.

However, on average, dentists seem to be replacing dentures somewhere between four to eight years. This would seem to imply that the average denture fabricated from contemporary biomaterials will wear out and deteriorate within that time and/or the average denture patient's jaws have changed so much that a new denture must be redone.

Each individual's denture needs are different. There are some factors that a licensed dentist takes into consideration when evaluating the need to replace dentures.

Denture Longevity Considerations

Lost vertical dimension:

The proper linear distance relationship between the upper and lower jaws is called vertical dimension. This is unique for each individual.

As one's jaw changes and the ridges upon which dentures rest shrink, a denture becomes loose and vertical dimension begins to change (the vertical dimension is said to be lost by a certain linear measurement unit such as millimeters). Additional plastic (acrylic resin) is added to the inside of a loosening denture (called relining a denture) to stabilize it by reducing looseness caused from jaw shrinkage. However, relining does not restore vertical dimension in an accurate way.

The current position held by most dentists is that when vertical dimension has been lost by three millimeters or more, a new denture should be fabricated in order to restore vertical dimension and maintain functional health.

There are individuals who have worn the same denture for extended periods with considerable loss of vertical dimension over time. Since vertical dimension loss is a slow, but nevertheless progressive, process, they have gradually adapted to a continually increasing closed bite position. These individuals often have a sunken facial appearance and usually appear much older than their chronological age.

Functioning with an abnormal vertical dimension may eventually result in alterations of the temporomandibular joints (TMJ, the jaw joint located in front of the ears). This can lead to significant pain and difficulty with effective eating and even the jaw motions involved with speech. It frequently becomes quite difficult, if not impossible, to restore such individual's proper vertical dimension and chewing efficiency by relining and repairing this older denture.

Tooth wear:

Aside from impaired ability to chew effectively, excess tooth wear will adversely affect esthetics and cause other problems associated with lost vertical dimension, as described above. While porcelain denture teeth will wear at a slower rate than plastic teeth, they nevertheless will wear and are more susceptible to chipping and cracking. Multiple cracked teeth will need to be replaced.

Deterioration: While the biomaterials used by dentists to fabricate dentures today are quite durable, they still deteriorate and exhibit dimensional change over time -- no longer fitting properly, even after relining.

Deteriorating plastic also makes it easier for dentures to become excessively contaminated with microorganisms. This contributes to mouth irritation and bad taste, and socially unacceptable odors will develop that no amount of denture cleaning will seem to eliminate.

Keeping regular dental check-ups with your dentist so that one's dentures, soft tissues, and jawbone may be checked is essential to extending the life of a denture and maintaining oral health.

by Joseph J. Massad, D.D.S.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.